Yes, I'm reading along and am excited this is happening. Ideally the spark will hook another club member or two. Magazines and pictures and parts that folks can fondle help with static displays. I'd suggest keeping the flyer and advertizing generic etc. maybe something like Sponsored by Members of NCR with links to the website and NAR and TRA.

Our hobby has a funny way of ebbing and flowing with membership and participation. The FUN should never be taken for granted and while I admire the enthusiasm, I would caution all involved to take baby steps or be prepared to get consumed with making Outreach a personal mission to the point of distraction.

My wife already says my rocketry is a distraction. If she only new. You may not realize it Joe, but you are a mentor of mine, as I try to keep the fun in dysfunction. 😆

Joe, he already has more support than he had expected...

It is important that people pay for lessons first, otherwise it is often ignored and forgotten. However, when a parent takes the time to attend a class with their child and purchased a basic kit, those lessons will not be forgotten by either of them.

I agree that things should be kept generic, since people are tired of constant advertisements. Let them ask for additional information after their curiosity has been tickled.

I still have not been able to pin down a launch site that will give approval to the launch. I fear it is harder to educate the adults than the children. I am working on about 4 sites within a 2 mile radius of the store, all of them private where we might launch. My favorite site is the largest and is next door to the police station on Timberline and Drake. The owners (3 parcels and 2 owners) are corporations in Denver and Golden. I am waiting for a response. I have also contacted a couple of churches and they have not replied at this time. I purchased a couple of Estes Alpha IIIs this week and built one this morning. From the time I cut the package open, followed the instructions, and tried to do it the way I imagine we would teach the children on that Saturday morning, took me just under 30 minutes. I needed Elmer's Carpenter's glue, a ruler, a straight edge, and scissors; I would think that I might need some sandpaper also, and keep and X-Acto in reserve. I am also thinking that if I purchased some syringes, (without needles) I could put glue in them which might mitigate some messes and keep the glue from flowing very freely, since very little is needed. I also used a Q-tip to help spread the glue and keep it off the fingers and hands. I also thought I might print the ruler (scale), the straight edge, and the shock cord mount onto copy paper and have a page for each kit to make it easier, and maybe one syringe of glue per table. We are getting closer to making it happen, but until I have the launch site and permission secured, we are dead in the water. I may have to be more pro-active. I am thinking of going to the school board meeting this Tuesday night and go see the Fire Marshal to see if I can make an ally, so that I might procure a launch permit from the city parks and rec. department. I have to get past the gate keepers to the head honchos who grant permits before I will get what I want.

Hi guys,

Trying to firm up my calendar, just found out my daughter has to get a hip procedure done in Utah probably around the time of all this. Just making sure i have the proposed dates correct.

April 21st Wheatridge - are we going for 1 day or two?
April 28th Ft Collins - 1 or two days?
Cheyanne May 19th -

1 day in Fort Collins. I am still trying to firm up a launch site.City parks -NO; Public Schools - NO; asking churches, slow to respond; private land, maybe.

I have had to cancel the Arvada Hobbytown clinic. there is only one field in Arvada that allows launching with prior approval. So happens that the city is having a kite festival that day. bummer.

Dave, I am planning on cancelling my event also. 🙁 I have not been able to secure a launch site that will not place me and the participants in violation of the city code. I am thinking it is now time to starting playing politics. I am thinking I need to get the fire marshal on my side first, if he/she will even talk with me. Then, if the fire marshal will support me, I go to the city council and see if I can talk with some of them one-on-one over coffee and try to get them to come to a launch. I would have to do the same with the City Manager. A major pain since I do not live in Fort Collins. I live in Wellington, 11 miles to the north. Since I am an outsider, they may not be willing to consider. It would help if rocketeers who are Fort Collins residents would take up the fight. If some would, I would be happy to participate.

I wouldn't push too hard until the fire danger is lower. I've got several places I've flown in Longmont, but with the grass this dry, I wouldn't dare fly. My best field was easily large enough for G motor flights and took some work to secure the rights to fly there, but was worth it. Unfortunately, it's now the Super Walmart East of Longmont. Bah!

-Ken

There are many possible launch sites in Fort Collins. The difficult task was to locate one that was close to Hobby Town where the class will be held.

I talked to a local church with a large soccer field today that is in an almost perfect location.

Until they call the police and tell me NO, I will probably launch my little 1/8th A Micro-Max Crayon rockets from that soccer field almost every day.

People are terrified of lawyers and insurance companies today!

Fine, if their specific lawyers or insurance agents are willing to tell me no on camera, then I will quit launching my tiny rockets from their huge soccer field.

I also know that bad publicity on local TV is even more terrifying to them!

Remember, it is often almost impossible to get permission, but very easy to obtain forgiveness if you have not caused any harm.

What did the police have to do with it?

Told you Bear, I know how to fight dirty when required!

Until the church tells me no, then I will assume that we have a GO FOR LAUNCH on the 28th.

By launching my tiny rockets every day, they will finally get bored and realize that model rockets are nothing to be afraid of. Actually, since most people working at that church flew model rockets as children, they would enjoy watching them once again.

My battle is with the fear of lawyers and insurance.

OK, I am a bit confused now.

The event on April 21st in Wheatridge is cancelled.
The event on April 28th in Ft Collins is cancelled.

What is the event Shunt1 is talking about on the 28th? Let me know if you need help and/or launch equipment for it.

So, on the topic of when and where to launch model rockets along with insurance and the like, I think the hobby is being held back a bit by these issues. I wrote Trip Barber last week about it and am hoping to bend his ear a bit more if he shows up to Narcon next week. I am in the process of setting up a website on how to run launches for kid events. Everything from insurance to safety to launch sites. Yes, I am also worried about getting sued, but if we can make it easier to do youth launches and get more people understanding it, and ultimately more people in the world-wide hobby, it will be worth it.

Shunt1 is talking about the Fort Collins launch of the 28th. We are still looking for a sight. But an even bigger concern is now the potential fire danger. If we do not have rain and green things up, there is now way I can make this happen. So we are still looking, and still trying, and hoping. and we are still going to need help if it is to happen, but it is looking very iffy. 😥

Years ago my NAR section would launch at a junior high school. Every launch was publicized ahead of time and we would frequently have newspaper and TV reporters come out and do a story on us. Eventually, we were able to get a hold of a man named Paul Haney, who had been the voice of mission control for the Gemini launches. He had retired from NASA and gone to work for a man named Judge Roy Hoffeinz, who had been mayor and county commissioner in Houston and Harris County. He is the man that owned the Houston Astrodome and hired Paul to run it form him. We were able to get Paul to come to a couple of our launches and then we talked with him about launching rockets in the dome during a sporting event, and then in 1969, New Years Eve, during the half time of a football game we launched six rockets from each goal lines, simultaneously, with the chutes coming out over the 50 yard line and floating down. Then we launched a S-V on a specially manufactured D motor from the fifty yard line also, using a semi-scale of the launch pad. Mr. Estes, Bill Simon, Leroy Piester, and all of their wives were in attendance and it was shown live on national TV to about 50 million people. Before we new it, we were getting new products and motors from MPC, Cox, Flight Systems, and anybody else who wanted to manufacture to this hobby and might be able to ride on our coattails. We did launches at Six Flags over Texas at Arlington, at Astros baseball games, and anyplace else we could. We launched at shopping centers and at fairs, at carnivals, and any town in the area that was having a celebration of any type.

It seems to me that if we want to expand the hobby and get it out to more people, especially the youth,we need to find places where we can put on demonstrations. Invite the elected officials and work to get them on our side and to feel comfortable with what we are doing. As I mentioned in a previous post, we might start with the fire marshals. If the fire services become comfortable with us and will sponsor us, it will be easier to get the elected officials to view us in a good light and then we can get laws enacted that will allow this, so we can launch from schools and parks.

It will take a dedicated effort and it is not fair to have one person do it all.

If we are not banned from flying by the dry weather and lack of moisture, maybe we can find a way to get some officials to come out.

Any comments?